Code of Ethics for Spiritual Guides

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Code of Ethics for Spiritual Guides

 

People have long sought to enrich their lives and to awaken to their

full natures through spiritual practices including prayer, meditation,

mind-body disciplines, service, ritual, community liturgy, holy-day

and seasonal observances, and rites of passage. " Primary religious

practices " are those intended, or especially likely, to bring about

exceptional states of consciousness such as the direct experience of

the divine, of cosmic unity, or of boundless awareness.

 

In any community, there are some who feel called to assist others

along spiritual paths, and who are known as ministers, rabbis,

pastors, curanderas, shamans, priests, or other titles. We call such

people 'guides': those experienced in some practice, familiar with the

terrain, and who act to facilitate the spiritual practices of others.

A guide need not claim exclusive or definitive knowledge of the terrain.

 

Spiritual practices, and especially primary religious practices, carry

risks. Therefore, when an individual chooses to practice with the

assistance of a guide, both take on special responsibilities. The

Council on Spiritual Practices proposes the following Code of Ethics

for those who serve as spiritual guides.

 

1. [intention] Spiritual guides are to practice and serve in ways that

cultivate awareness, empathy*(love), and wisdom.

 

2. [serving Society] Spiritual practices are to be designed and

conducted in ways that respect the common good, with due regard for

public safety, health, and order. Because the increased awareness

gained from spiritual practices can catalyze desire for personal and

social change, guides shall use special care to help direct the

energies of those they serve, as well as their own, in responsible

ways that reflect a loving regard for all life.

 

3. [serving Individuals] Spiritual guides shall respect and seek to

preserve the autonomy and dignity of each person. Participation in any

primary religious practice must be voluntary and based on prior

disclosure and consent given individually by each participant while in

an ordinary state of consciousness. Disclosure shall include, at a

minimum, discussion of any elements of the practice that could

reasonably be seen as presenting physical or psychological risks. In

particular, participants must be warned that primary religious

experience can be difficult and dramatically transformative.

 

Guides shall make reasonable preparations to protect each

participant's health and safety during spiritual practices and in the

periods of vulnerability that may follow. Limits on the behaviors of

participants and facilitators are to be made clear and agreed upon in

advance of any session. Appropriate customs of confidentiality are to

be established and honored.

 

4. [Competence] Spiritual guides shall assist with only those

practices for which they are qualified by personal experience and by

training or education.

 

5. [integrity] Spiritual guides shall strive to be aware of how their

own belief systems, values, needs, and limitations affect their work.

During primary religious practices, participants may be especially

open to suggestion, manipulation, and exploitation; therefore, guides

pledge to protect participants and not to allow anyone to use that

vulnerability in ways that harm participants or others.

 

6. [Quiet Presence] To help safeguard against the harmful consequences

of personal and organizational ambition, spiritual communities are

usually better allowed to grow through attraction rather than active

promotion.

 

7. [Not for Profit] Spiritual practices are to be conducted in the

spirit of service. Spiritual guides shall strive to accommodate

participants without regard to their ability to pay or make donations.

 

8. [Tolerance] Spiritual guides shall practice openness and respect

towards people whose beliefs are in apparent contradiction to their own.